Northern lights forecast tonight in Iceland

A glacial cirque cut into the mountainside opposite the airport, open to the north straight down Skutulsfjörður. The trailhead is a walk from town on Route 61, though the climb itself is steep and unlit — a headtorch is not optional.

An inland valley behind the town with the alpine ski slopes and the Bunárfoss waterfall, screened from Ísafjörður's light by the ridge between. The fjord view is gone, so you are looking at sky rather than a horizon.

The cross-country ski valley west of town, set back behind the ridge so Ísafjörður's glow is out of the way. The local tourism board pairs the two ski areas here with aurora, which is as specific as the sourcing gets.

A protected area of glacier-scoured knolls and small ponds on the shore of Eyjafjörður, where the fjord holds the northern and eastern horizon open. The Krossanes harbour works sit just south, so some light spills in from that side.

Eight hundred hectares of planted forest south of town, and the reason to come is shelter — the trees cut the wind that makes a long wait outdoors unbearable. Stand in the glades or the free car park, since the canopy blocks a low arc.

A medieval trading site on the west shore of Eyjafjörður, flat and at sea level, far enough out that Akureyri's glow no longer reaches. Water fills the northern and eastern horizon; the last stretch in is an unlit gravel road.

A former island south of the harbour, joined to the shore and reachable on foot in fifteen minutes. Water surrounds it on three sides and the low hill Óslandshæð gets you clear of the harbour lights, though the town glow sits directly north.

A headland under the 454 m Vestrahorn, reached by a gravel spur off Route 1, with the North Atlantic open to the south and east and no settlement light anywhere near. Entry is 1,100 ISK, paid at a self-service kiosk after 22:00.

The Hvalnesviti lighthouse stands on a pebble spit beside Route 1, 36 km up the coast and past the last of Höfn's glow. Nothing blocks the horizon from north through east, and the ring road is ploughed, so it stays reachable in winter.

A coastal nature reserve on the Seltjarnarnes peninsula with the lighthouse and open Atlantic to the north. Close to town yet largely out of its light, and reachable on foot along the shore path.

A wooded hill rising about 60 m above the city, so the trees screen the streetlights while the height opens the sky. The nearest real darkness to the centre.

A 120 m headland with a 1927 lighthouse on top, high above the coast and a long way from any village light. The lower car park at Lágey stays open all year; the road up to the lighthouse is often iced over in winter.

Black sand west of the village on Route 215, well clear of Vík's streetlights. Reynisfjall rises 340 m to the north-east, so a low arc is partly screened, and sneaker waves have killed people here — stay up by the car park after dark.

The village beach, a few minutes on foot, with the Reynisdrangar stacks standing 66 m out of the water to the west. Vík's lights sit right behind you to the north, which is the wrong side for aurora, so this suits a bright display.